1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of assessing the suitability of wheat or wheat flour for production of noodles; a method of manufacturing wheat flour for producing noodles by use of wheat evaluated to possess excellent suitability for producing noodles according to the assessing method; the wheat flour evaluated to possess excellent suitability for producing noodles; noodles prepared from the wheat flour; a farina composition comprising the wheat flour; and noodles prepared from the farina composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Suitability of starting material wheat (hereinafter referred to simply as "wheat") for producing noodles has conventionally been well known to depend on the meteorological conditions under which wheat is cultivated, as well as the district where the wheat is grown, its variety, and the blend condition of wheat grains.
Suitability of wheat flour for producing noodles is also known to vary according to the variety (or market class) of wheat milled into wheat flour as well as the period and conditions of storage for the wheat flour.
Conventionally known methods of assessing suitability of wheat or wheat flour for producing noodles include 1) methods in which noodles are actually produced from wheat flour obtained by milling wheat in situ or by use of wheat flour already milled so as to evaluate handling characteristics when made into noodles, and in which sensory tests or the like are employed to evaluate the quality of the thus-obtained noodles, and 2) methods in which physical properties are evaluated by the amylograph test or a similar test method.
However, the conventional methods described above in 1) have a drawback that they require experience and much time and effort on the part of the experimenters, because noodles must actually be produced for evaluation of suitability of wheat or wheat flour for producing noodles. The conventional methods described above in 2) are also disadvantageous in that a large amount of sample is required and that suitability of wheat or wheat flour for producing noodles cannot be evaluated directly. Thus, there has been demanded a simple, quick, and accurate method of assessing suitability of wheat or wheat flour for producing noodles, as well as wheat flour evaluated to possess excellent suitability for producing noodles according to the assessing method.
Noodles are stored, distributed, and sold in various forms such as uncooked (moisture-containing conditions), semi-dry, dry, boiled, steamed, frozen, and instant noodles. Of the uncooked wet noodles (hereinafter simply referred to as uncooked noodles), those for microwave cooking have recently become of interest as consumers are becoming oriented toward convenience in eating. Unlike conventional uncooked, semi-dry, and dry noodles, uncooked noodles for microwave cooking do not require such procedures as boiling a large amount of water and boiling the noodles in the water for a long time, and are easily prepared only by cooking in a microwave cooking device such as a microwave oven after the noodles are put into a container along with a small amount of water or hot water. In addition, they exhibit better texture than do conventional instant noodles. Therefore, demand for them is expected to grow. However, uncooked noodles for microwave cooking developed hitherto generally require 3-5 minutes of cooking, thus falling short of the expectations of consumers, who prefer a shorter cooking time. Thus, there has been a demand for the development of uncooked noodles for microwave cooking which require a shorter cooking time than do their conventional equivalent and which exhibit excellent eating qualities.